Charlie Williams

I began my career at UEA where I graduated with a BA (hons) in American History with English History, before moving to the USA, to the University of Arizona for an MA and a PhD in the Graduate Interdisplinary Program of Indigenous Studies.  During my six years living in the USA, I worked with Indigenous Peoples, looking at strategies to maintain healthy communities. Focusing on social justice issues through the exploration of role models, I researched through participant observation with contemporary youth leaders and examined their approaches used to promote well-being among Indigenous youth through arenas such as language, culture, and identity. It was while I was working with Indigenous youth that I developed a key interest in how social inequalities and historical trauma negatively impact health and well-being and how self-determination and cultural revitalization can begin to reverse that process and allow for healing. I was the first in my department to be awarded a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to conduct my research and have presented both nationally and internationally and subsequently published my research in academic Journals. 

My teaching career started in 2008 as a Graduate Teaching Assistant while at the University of Arizona. I gave lectures and delivered modules for Freshman through to Graduate Students. After graduating I returned to UEA to work as Associate Tutor in American Studies during term time, while spending my summers working for the University of Southampton as an English for Academic Purposes tutor. During this time, I concurrently worked for the University of Loughborough, London, on an ad hoc basis, where I was a dissertation supervisor for 13 Masters students. While I greatly enjoyed teaching, I side-stepped into the position of Learning Technology at UEA in 2018, to work more holistically across Faculties and Support Services. During this time, I worked on several projects, including setting up Pebble Pad in the MB BS program, working on FutureLearn MOOCs, and leading on training and development for Blackboard assignments and polling solutions.

Since Jan 2022 I work for Norwich Medical School as a lecture in Medicine and a Widening Participation Academic Officer. This roles sees me running the Medical Schools outreach provision with local schools, and leading on widening participation within the school as we strive for equity through student access, retention, sucess, and positive outcomes.